Horrible, I know. A day late and no reasonable excuse. LOOL

I just want to be clear that yes, this is a romance between Nagare and an OC, but it's not going to be fast and furious. I want to take my sweet, sweet time building that up for our lovely Green King. :)

Also, this is officially chapter one, but it's more or a short introduction. The next chapter will be longer, I promise. :)

Shaping the World

CH I

It was euphoric, the feeling of power rushing through her veins when she jumped to the final length of the game. The second her device congratulated her for becoming an official J-rank member of JUNGLE, she felt an overwhelming current of energy take over her body. She was able to manipulate the green electricity and felt it sparking above the flesh of her hands, smiling at the fact she could feel it outside of her body rather than just a minor current when she'd been a lower rank with borrowed powers.

Another gift had been given to her upon her successful leap to a real member of JUNGLE.

For the first time in her life, her eyes opened and she could finally see the world around her.

Risa Niimura had been born blind, after her mother suffered a severe infection so close to her due date. Her eyes had been functioning like the normal but were scarred as though she'd suffered burns directly on her retinas. It hadn't bothered her growing up without being able to see, but now that this power she'd worked so hard for gifted her, she wasn't going allow anyone to take it away.

Emerald green was what replaced the hazed, scarred dark brown color to her eyes.

She found herself in the middle of a dark rural area of town where the dim lights casting themselves from the inside of local businesses were still welcoming to those wandering around outside. There were also lights flashing at the very tip top of buildings for airplanes passing by that seemed to call up to the moon brightly shining down on her.

Risa held her hands up and examined them thoroughly, taking in every detail whenever she would flex a digit and smiled in wonder at how she could finally see what her body was doing. She also looked down and took in her appearance, surprised when she was met with black jeans and a gray t-shirt. It was plain and simple, but that had been the way ever since she was young.

Her eyes landed on the long strands of chocolate brown hair, as she took them into her hands and watched her fingers rub together. With a smile, she admired the softness of her locks and reached back to pull more forward for inspection.

"My, what a pleasant surprise," A voice from behind her caught her attention, as she turned to face a rather tall, handsome man who approached her, "Congratulations on becoming the newest J-rank. My name is Yukari Mishakuji, and I shall escort you to our base to meet our King."

Risa nodded slowly and walked over to him, "Risa Niimura, but I'm sure you're already aware of that."

"I am," Yukari smiled and began to lead her to one of the many entrances to their underground base, "Our Nagare is quite fascinated at the fact you were able to successfully accomplish all missions by yourself with such a severe hindrance, although I see that's no longer the case."

Risa looked up at him with her piercing, stunning emerald eyes, "I was given this gift once I became a J-rank. I'll fulfill any duty the Green King has as a thank you for this opportunity in life."

"I think you'll find him more of a gentleman once you've met him," Yukari chuckled softly, "Our other resident King, Tenkei Iwafune, has been grooming Nagare so that he will address you politely rather than be rude in the presence of a woman."

Her brows furrowed, "That's not necessary..."

"But it is," They stopped so Yukari could hold up his device to a touch-pad and watched as the doors opened to give them access, "You see, even though our King is an adult, he is still very much a child. You'll understand this when you've been around him for a little while."

Risa followed him and never looked back as the doors closed behind them, her eyes squinting as they adjusted to extremely bright surrounding in contrast to the outside, "Is he a kind person?"

"He is," Yukari looked down at her, "Despite his childish tendencies and the way he communicates with us all at times, he's a very accepting, calm individual who accepts his new clansmen and all of their unique traits."

She nodded and let his words sink in, mentally painting a picture of the man she was about to meet. As they made it to the last entrance that would lead them directly to the area where the Green King currently resided, Yukari looked back at her with a smile.

"No need to be bashful," He motioned for her to step forward, "They're all very excited to meet you."

As the doors opened, Risa inhaled deeply and followed Yukari into the area.

It was another large area where a small, dimly lit sitting area sat in the very middle of the dark expanse. The two made their way over, and soon they both discarded their footwear and walked into what looked like a normal living room.

"Ah, here she is!" An older looking man with long gray hair wearing what she could only describe as cathedral robes stood up with his arms outstretched, "Congratulations and welcome to our little family! My name is Tenkei Iwafune and I'm the Sixth and Gray King, but please call me Mr. Iwa!"

Risa felt her cheeks heat up as she smiled small, "Thank you for having me."

Her eyes wandered around the room, meeting a small boy around the age of thirteen with silvery hair who was currently absorbed into the game he was playing as he lay on the floor in front of a tiny screen. Yukari cleared his throat to catch the boy's attention, having succeeded as he paused at his current location to look back at her.

Risa smiled softly at him and waved, "Hello."

"Hi..." His cheeks dusted a light pink as he looked away from her and went back to his game, having begun to press the buttons more intensely than before.

Yukari chuckled at this, "It's unlike you to be bashful, Sukuna."

She heard the boy huff and simply giggled at that, knowing at the age he was at that being introduced to girls would cause this reactions.

Finally, her eyes landed on a particularly unique sight as she was met with one uncovered light blue eye from the man sitting in an extremely advanced wheelchair. His messy brown hair covered his left eye, which she assumed at the time was the same color and noticed he was rather pale in complexion. It confused her, however, seeing him bound tightly by what looked like a dark blue, full-body straitjacket.

"Risa Niimura," He spoke in a friendly tone, "I welcome you as the newest member of our clan. My name is Hisui Nagare."

Risa bowed out of politeness and respect, "It's an honor to finally meet you, Green King."

He blinked at this, never having received that kind of introduction before, "Please, take a seat and make yourself comfortable."

She did just that, sitting beside Tenkei after he'd patted the spot beside him.

"I wanted to thank you," Risa looked at Nagare, "You gave me a gift I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for."

He watched her and felt his chest tighten slightly as she smiled softly, "You've earned it, considering you accomplished all of your missions without it."

"Yes," Tenkei agreed, "It's amazing how skilled you are without needing something so important to others."

Risa blushed, "Thank you. It was my father who trained me to sense things around me. He made sure that I would be able to defend myself, no matter which direction an enemy came at me."

"Smart man," Tenkei smiled, "Leaving a woman out there on her own, you'd have to know how to defend yourself."

Risa nodded and smiled, momentarily pausing in her words to admire a fond memory of her father.

Meanwhile, Tenkei watched her and ever so casually glanced in the direction of his surrogate son, noticing the Green King was watching Risa with curiously wide eyes. He felt himself smile, knowing this was the first real encounter with a woman that Nagare would have had since the Kagutsu Crater that took the life of his parents.

"Have you eaten yet?" Tenkei asked as he stood up, "This homebody is going to venture out and go get something good for all of us to celebrate with."

Risa looked up at him with wide eyes, "Please don't trouble yourself."

"I insist!" He grinned and looked over to Yukari and Sukuna, "You two are coming with me," He looked right at Sukuna, "Especially you. It's been two days since you last stepped foot out of this base and got some fresh air."

Sukuna mumbled, "I'm not finished my game yet!"

"I promise I'll make sure it doesn't turn off," Risa offered, surprised when Sukuna looked back at her with rosy cheeks again and nodded slowly.

"Fine," He huffed, pausing his game and pushing himself up off the floor.

Risa watched as both Sukuna and Yukari pulled on their respective coats and grabbed their weapons before following Tenkei out of the room. She noticed the look the Gray King shot Nagare before they all disappeared, leaving her alone with the silent Green King.

"You are free to return to your home should you feel more comfortable, but it is preferred you stay here in the base," Nagare spoke with a surprisingly soft tone, making Risa look at him and nod silently, "As a J-rank, you also have permission to walk around this entire place freely and have access to every room."

"Wow," Risa blinked and smiled, "That's quite a lot of freedom for someone who just became a J-rank."

Nagare nodded, "As a new member of my clan, I will be depending on you and will trust you to do your assignments. It's only fair that you are given the same right and responsibility as Sukuna and Yukari."

"I'll be more than happy to," Risa smiled, "After all, it was because of your dream to change this world that I decided to join JUNGLE."

That surprised Nagare, "I see," He blinked and watched her as she shifted in her spot, "Forgive me, but you seem rather uncomfortable."

"Not at all," Risa looked at him, "It's just... I'm not used to actually seeing where I am or what I'm touching."

"I understand," Nagare continued watching her as she looked down at the white sofa she currently sat on, "Perhaps you would like a tour of my clan's base?"

Risa looked at him with wide eyes, "Really?"

Again, he felt his chest tighten when those bright emerald eyes of hers met his own, "Of course."

. . .

Risa walked beside Nagare as the two made their way through the many halls of JUNGLE's base. She found it interesting that they had so much space with very little rooms. It seemed as though the hallways went on forever, with each one being as brightly lit as the others. It was after she was shown the control room and the living quarters that she was welcome to, when she finally decided to inquire about something that had been bugging her since her arrival.

"May I ask a question?" Risa looked down at him.

"Of course," Nagare continued looking forward, not daring to meet her eyes.

"Is it too personal of me to ask why you have yourself bound like that?" Risa's voice was curious, soft but cautions.

Nagare stopped his wheelchair and looked at her with a slightly wide expression, "I suppose you could say it's a personal choice. Having had a taste of what my true power is for yourself, you can understand how dangerous it is if left uncontrolled."

"That's true," Risa nodded but frowned small, "Don't you get tired being all tied up like that? Not being able to move at all or to even enjoy a good stretch?"

He shook his head slowly, still staring up at her, "Not really."

"Oh, I see," Her lips tugged into a smile, "I'm sorry, it was probably really nosy of me to ask."

Again, he shook his head but no words came out. All he could do was stare up at her, his eyes staring up into her own as he memorized how brightly they were shining in the artificial light.

Cheesy, I know. LOOL

Just remember, Nagare is still technically a child trapped in an adults body, so lets all keep this in mind while reading through his experiences! ;)

I promise she's not going to be Mary-Sue or that Nagare will be so out of character that it hurts, but because he's only ever been around his clansmen and Tenkei Iwafune (as far as we know), that gives me A LOT of room for playing with that side of his personality. I love being able to tweak things around, so forgive me if I get carried away at moments. ;)

~ Kayori, out!